ALL we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

At the absolute center of Christianity is that we all fall short morally. Even if we only followed the "moral standards" that each of espoused, we still fall short. God offers redemption through repentance.

I have no idea if Hugh Freeze is sincere, but I believe we all deserve a second chance. Heck, I know I have needed second chance after second chance.

Freeze is stilk getting paid millions of dollars despite flouting numerous NCAA rules and possibly also cheating on his wife. If you think he deserves a second chance because of that then so be it, but I'd love to see where you draw the line.

To put it delicately, the ways that the Liberty University base shrugs these days to just about everything that they would previously meet with righteous moral indignation, you can safely file this under "Nothing Matters."

Agreed. As a Christian, I am a bit embarrassed by this, but it is funny that people who ridicule it have to appeal to a Christian standard of morality in order to do so (that's because there is no standard of morality in honest atheism, and like a parasite it must "borrow" its morality from another worldview, but that's another discussion for another time...).

On a sidenote, I really don't know the details about how much Freeze or this other guy actually knew concerning these scandals, as we should all remember that allegations are not in and of themselves proof. Maybe they were hip deep in it, maybe not. I really don't know. And if they were, I hope they were brought to repentance.

But I do want to know this: how many of the people ridiculing Freeze and the AD for getting a second chance have done something stupid and gotten a second chance themselves. I don't know about anybody else here, but I've done stupid stuff and have been forgiven and given another chance. What about everybody else? Have you? Or are you perfect and never needed to apologize or confess any wrongdoing in your life?

These two guys may be sorry, they may not. Nobody is really sure of a man's heart when his mouth professes contrition, REGARDLESS of what the wrongdoing is. But it's the epitome of hypocrisy to beg a cushion of mercy for our own lives while demanding a hammer of justice to come down upon everybody else. And we are all guilty of this, thinking WE are sincere when we say we're sorry while blindly assuming somebody else is not.

Again, not saying that these guys are or aren't sorry, or that they did or didn't know everything they were alleged to know. I just find it funny that people who would be insulted by having their sincerety challenged are so quick to judge the sincerity of others, as if they have spectacles to see into the soul.

The thing is - that forgiveness isn't all that meaningful in the absence of justice. Yes, we don't know what happened with either Freeze or the AD but what they were alleged to have done is pretty serious and shouldn't be swept so easily under the rug. It's really hard for me to look at these hires so soon after the offenses in question, and at their professed repentance, and not conclude that it's anything other than a performative display to get a good-ish football coach to elevate their program. And I'd say the same with if we were talking some other random non-Liberty FCS school.

"...but it is funny that people who ridicule it have to appeal to a Christian standard of morality in order to do so (that's because there is no standard of morality in honest atheism, and like a parasite it must "borrow" its morality from another worldview..."

So, with this sentence, you're saying that all people who believe the hard facts of demonstrable science over stories in a book are incapable of making good decisions. That's awesome, man... Its also wrong.

FWIW, I went to parochial schools (Lutheran) through high school. But the more I learn about science, the more I believe it. Especially when considering the hypocritical and bigoted views of most religious personalities - something that is very un-Christian...

This thread is quickly going to turn ugly, because people are more eager to attack the failings of certain groups than others.

I have friends who have attended Liberty or taken their correspondence courses. I'm a pastor, so this is my neighborhood. So I'll drop a couple of my tweets (from my largely non-sports twitter feed) here as my public word on the subject:

So @LibertyU has hired a new football coach. He ran a program that flagrantly broke NCAA rules in his last stop and was fired for calling a prostitute.

This isn't a discussion for this thread. The tweet wasn't composed for this board; it was composed for a different audience, one in which many people know my affinity for Michigan. My parents both hold multiple degrees from it, and I treasure what it has meant for my family and my upbringing. I don't consider they hypocrisy limited to them, but I am using that as an example to show that I'm not just flaming things I don't like (e.g. OSU). I consider it an issue at many institutions of higher learning, as well as other sorts of corporations and organizations.

And I've griped about it occasionally on twitter. My purpose, in 280 characters, was to highlight the gravity of Liberty's actions here in a context that those who might be sympathetic with it can understand. To say "you're as bad as [insert name of secular university Liberty-likers find dislikable, say, Berkeley or something]" is a strong statement, with serious biblical implications for those who sincerely hold to those principles.

You are certainly one of the more level headed posters here, and always offer a reasoned response. However, in this case, I fail to see where you answered the question about whatever hypocrisy Michigan has taken part of. Your explanation, while laying a perfectly clear background for your 'other' conversation, leaves open ended the question of hypocrisy.

Look, I have no stake in Michigan other than a life long fandom from growing up in Michigan. And I have no doubt the school has acted out hypocritically in many forms over the years. But here, you've equated that with sexual misconduct of some form - because of the thread subject topic. And that demands clear reasoning.